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Cougar sighting in St. Paul

A cougar sighting had the town in an uproar on the afternoon of July 18, when the Town of St. Paul announced on its Facebook page one had been spotted near the County of St. Paul Shop.

A cougar sighting had the town in an uproar on the afternoon of July 18, when the Town of St. Paul announced on its Facebook page one had been spotted near the County of St. Paul Shop.

An employee at the shop at the northwest end of town had spotted the feline after wrapping up his lunch break.

“(The employee) noticed what he thought was a fox sitting on top of the chain link fence. It got up and started to walk on top of the fence when he realized, “Oh that’s not a fox, it’s a cougar,” County of St. Paul CAO Sheila Kitz said to the Journal.

The cougar then jumped off the fence into a bush, and the staff member called Fish and Wildlife Services, who declined comment on the situation when contacted by the St. Paul Journal. Alberta Environment and Parks was also unable to provide a comment by press time Monday.

Kitz said it’s the first time she’s heard of a cougar being so close to town.

The county currently holds dogs in need of a home “in between the two buildings,” on the shop site, Kitz said.

When asked if dogs being in the area might be the reason a cougar would venture this close, Kitz could only speculate.

“I’m not sure…I don’t know if was looking for food. It seems odd that it would sit on top of the fence. That’s the really bizarre thing,” Kitz remarked.

The edges of the chain link fence are sharp, and Kitz said when the staff member saw the cougar it was just “laying around,” and not in an aggressive or pouncing position.

One resident, Annette Yopyk, told the Journal she saw a cougar cub by her house, which is next to the county shop and Iron Horse Trail.

“I was looking in the back, I was in my garage working.  I had gotten texts from three or four people sending me the (town’s) notice that a cougar was in the area and to look out.”

“I didn’t see anything. I left the house and went out. I came back later in the evening going north on Kings’ Motel road and there she was,” Yopyk said.

After a quick Google search, Yopyk was “one-hundred per cent convinced it was a cub.”

“It was calm and just sort of sauntering around,” she said explaining its demeanour.

Yopyk didn’t think to take a picture and decided it may not be the best idea to go out and look for a den. She heard earlier a neighbour had seen a bigger cougar on the Iron Horse Trail earlier that day.

Yopyk called Fish & Wildlife and notified them of her sighting.

St. Paul RCMP S/Sgt. Corey Blize said police did not attend the call for the sighting.

“We were made aware of it, but that’s Fish & Wildlife’s mandate is to deal with that stuff,” he said.

“We only deal with it if it’s immediate danger to the public.”

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